''Sumday'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Grandaddy Grandaddy is an American indie rock band from Modesto, California, Modesto, California. The group was formed in 1992, and featured Jason Lytle, Aaron Burtch, Jim Fairchild, Kevin Garcia and Tim Dryden, until Garcia's death in 2017 following a ...

, released on May 13, 2003 by record label V2. The album achieved commercial success in the UK, and was well received by music critics.

Content

Around about the time of the album's release, frontman

Jason Lytle Jason Lytle ( ; born March 26, 1969) is an American musician best known for his work in the indie rock group Grandaddy. The group split in 2005, and Lytle continued to release music as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians. Gra ...

commented that the album "represents the closest I've been to singing in the first person, writing passionately".

Release

''Sumday'' was released on May 13, 2003 by

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

V2. The album is the group's highest charting in the UK, peaking at No. 22. By 2006, the album had sold 110,000 copies. An expanded version of the album was released five months later, with a bonus disc of songs recorded live at the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

in 2003 (tracks 1–6) as well as three tracks taken from The Black Sessions in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(tracks 7–9). A 20th anniversary box set titled ''Sumday Twunny'' was released in August 2023.

Singles

Three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

were released from the album: "El Caminos in the West", which reached No. 48 on the UK Singles Chart; " Now It's On", which reached No. 23; and "I'm on Standby".

Critical reception

The album was well received by music critics. ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' viewed the album as one where Lytle had decided to "tone down on the experimentation, and concentrate on developing some terrific melodies", calling it "really the next logical step for the band". He commented on similarities to the

Alan Parsons Project Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

("Now It's On"), ELO ("The Go in the Go-for-It") and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

("Lost on Yer Merry Way"), and noted an improvement in Lytle's songwriting. The ''

CMJ New Music Report CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'' made it their 'essential release' in May 2003, calling it a "genuinely wholehearted work", and in their end-of-year review placed it at No. 7 in their list of the top albums of the year.

Jim DeRogatis James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of ''Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', ''Guitar World'', ''Matter'' and '' Modern Drummer'' ...

, in his book ''Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock'', viewed the melodies as "even more effervescent and more memorable" than on ''

The Sophtware Slump ''The Sophtware Slump'' is the second studio album by American indie rock band Grandaddy. It was released in May 2000 by record label V2. It is seen by some as a concept album about problems concerning modern technology in society. The album was ...

''. Sophie Best of ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' called it "another sprawling sonic Grandaddy adventure, shimmering with wistful sincerity and rural-tinged

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

". ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' gave it a grade of 8/10, writing that the songs sound "pretty much like

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

if he'd heard an

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

record".

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' gave the album a one-star honorable mention rating and cited "The Group Who Couldn't Say" and "Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake" as highlights. A less favorable review came from Heather Phares of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', who described the record as being "bland and complacent", opining that it failed to live up to the expectations of ''

''. A 2023 review of the 20th anniversary reissue from Arielle Gordon of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' described it as "wide-open" and "a prescient meditation on the need to escape" that "stood apart from its predecessors".

Track listing

Personnel

Grandaddy *

– lead vocals, guitar, various instruments,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Kevin Garcia – bass guitar * Aaron Burtch – drums *

Jim Fairchild Kirby James Fairchild is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a guitarist of the indie rock bands Grandaddy and Modest Mouse. Fairchild has released solo material under the pseudonym All Smiles. Biography Born in ...

– guitar * Tim Dryden – keyboards Technical * Lucky Lew – engineering * Michael H. Brauer – mixing * Nathaniel Chan – mixing assistance * Rick Chavarria – mixing assistance * Greg Calbi – mastering * Shinzou Maeda – cover photography

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Grandaddy albums 2003 albums V2 Records albums